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Coopers make history at La Biennale di Venezia

POSTED BY admin, 09.06.2014,

Coopers Fire will be making history at this year’s 14th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia by showcasing its ground breaking FireMaster® Concertina™ fire curtain barrier, the first of such to ever be exhibited at this prestigious event. With its avant-garde reputation for promoting innovation and new architectural trends, this year’s La Biennale di Venezia, titled “Fundamentals” is the creation of world renowned architectural theorist, Rem Koolhaas, whose vision for the exhibition includes the three interlocking topics - Absorbing Modernity, Elements of Architecture and, Monditalia.

The FireMaster® Concertina™ fire curtain barrier will feature as part of the “Elements of Architecture” exhibit and will help to bring the Wall Room exhibit alive through providing an insight into the future of walls by demonstrating how fire curtain barriers have helped change the dynamics and accessibility of open plan design in the built environment.
Since 1983, Coopers have worked closely with architects to develop a number of groundbreaking fire protection solutions to protect buildings and their occupants from the harmful effects of fire whilst permitting modern, open plan designs to be built as the architect had intended.

Coopers are delighted to have been invited by Rem Koolhaas’s team to support La Biennale di Venezia at a time when the exhibition attempts to explore the “Fundamentals” of architecture.
This prestigious event is where the world’s architectural community comes together to embrace innovation and, as fire curtain barrier technology advances, it’s the perfect forum to mark their confirmation as a viable alternative to traditional fire separating elements.
At Coopers, we’ve remained true to our origins by working closely with architects to develop the fire and smoke curtain solutions that ensure open plan designs meet stringent fire regulations. This is why we’re delighted that our FireMaster® Concertina™ has been selected to represent the fire and smoke curtain manufacturers to mark such a poignant point our industry’s history

FireMaster® Concertina™ is the latest in a series of next generation fire curtain barriers developed, by Coopers, to provide designers with an approved and compliant, non-invasive means of protecting open plan designs from the effects of fire.
The world’s first self-supporting fire curtain barrier, the FireMaster® Concertina™ is designed to do away with the need for side guides, corner posts and side channels and provide architects the freedom to produce modern, open plan designs capable of providing an uninterrupted line of sight. Furthermore, the FireMaster® Concertina™ is approved to protect from fire for up to 4 hours and, because it’s completely bespoke, can be manufactured to meet any shape requirements, even a faceted circle.
The world’s first fully faceted circular fire curtain was installed by Coopers into Sydney, Australia’s iconic 1 Bligh Street, with other FireMaster® Concertina™ projects such as London retailer Selfridges, where a series of rectangular fire curtain barriers were installed to protect atria and escalators from fire.

The Coopers FireMaster® Concertina™ will be displayed at the 14th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia for the full duration of the exhibition from the 7th June to the 23rd November 2014.